Географски разгледи (51) 47-58 (2018) Geographical Reviews

UDK: 338.488.2:303(497.11)

TOURISM POTENTIALS OF GOLUBAC MUNICIPALITY

Lukić DOBRILA Eight Belgrade Grammar School, Grčića Milenka 71, Belgrade, Serbia; email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to present the potentials of Golubac municipality for tourism development. In fulfilling the stated aim, the first step is to outline the position of Golubac municipality on the geographic and tourism map. This is followed by defining municipality’s environmental and anthropogenic tourism resources, after which the focus shifts to available accommodation facilities and tourist turnover. As regards the methodology used in the research, the statistical method has been employed to determine the weather conditions and water temperature regime of the Danube for the period 1991-2010. The same method has been used to calculate the number of accommodation facilities (units), tourists and overnight stays in Golubac municipality in 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well as the average length of stay, functionality index, occupancy rates, and functionality score. Other methods used are analysis and synthesis and the field method. Research results point to a conclusion that tourism potentials of Golubac municipality have not been fully realized and that the tourism industry has not been sufficiently developed in this municipality.

Key words: Golubac municipality, potentials, tourism

INTRODUCTION

The municipality of Golubac lies in the northeast of Central Serbia, in the east part of the Danube River Basin. It is surrounded by the municipalities of Veliko Gradiste to the west, Kucevo to the south and Majdanpek to the east. Running along its northern border is the River Danube, which forms a state border with Romania. The municipality covers an area of 367 square kilometres and belongs to the class of small municipalities. According to the 2011 Census, there were 8654 residents living in 24 settlements (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia). The territory of this municipality is rather sparsely populated, with twenty-five residents living on one square kilometre (Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia). Golubac belongs to the class of municipalities in which agriculture is the main branch of industry, with high percentage of active population working in the primary sector. The growth of other types of industries, in particular tourism, has been fairly recent. A 102-kilometre network of classified roads stretches across the territory of Golubac municipality. The arterial road number 25/1, also known as the Iron Gates Thoroughfare (Serbian: Djerdapska magistrala), which links Pozarevac and Kladovo via Veliko Gradiste, Golubac and Donji Milanovac, runs along the northern border of this municipality, from the west to the east, along the Danube valley. Three regional roads, specifically Branicevo – Ljesnica, Golubac – Malesevo – Zelenik and Golubac – Turija, branch off from the arterial road. There are also local roads linking settlements to arterial and regional roads in the municipality. In Golubac municipality, inland waterways are used only for hauling away building stones. It is expected that White Fleet vessels of the Yugoslav River Shipping are going to dock in this municipality in the near future, after construction of a wharf near the Golubac Fortress. Owing to this, it will be possible to realize fully the tourism potentials of this great international river. As regards railway transport, its relevance to tourist arrivals in Golubac municipality is marginal

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D. Lukić Tourism potentials of Golubac municipality since there is only a two-kilometre single-track railway passing through the municipality from Pozarevac to Majdanpek, south-west of the village of Klenje (Група аутора, 1990).

NATURAL TOURISM RESOURCES OF GOLUBAC MUNICIPALITY

The municipality of Golubac hosts a number of relief elements that can be classified as tourist attractions. Firstly, the Iron Gates consists of the Golubac Gorge, the Valley of Liubcova and a segment of the Gospodjin Vir (Lady’s Eddy) Gorge. Then, there is a gorge of the River Brnjicka, with a road hewn into the rocks leading to Veliki Izvor and a lookout point on the Crni Vrh mountain peak. What is also worth mentioning are tufa deposits located in the vicinity of Tuman Monastery, as well as a scenic viewpoint in the village of Strmac, overlooking the Kozice Valley, and an observation point located on a saddle between the valleys of rivers Kozica and Pesaca. All these localities are situated within the bounds of the Iron Gates National Park, which covers a total of 63,608 ha. Twenty-eight point five percent, or 16,025 ha to be precise, of the surface area of this national park are situated in the municipality of Golubac, thus accounting for 49.3% of its total surface area (Група аутора, 1990). The park boasts exceptionally valuable geomorphologic, hydrologic, biogeographic, historical and archaeologic features. The attractions listed above, as well as other resources, have been placed under a special protective regime, presently being managed in an organized way and increasingly used to promote tourism. With its natural, cultural and historical assets, the Iron Gates has a potential for growing transient tourism and increasing the number of longer-stay tourist. In addition, because of the fact that it lies within the bounds of a national park, it also has a potential for growing recreational tourism. The Golubac Gorge forms the first of many narrowings of the Danube in the Iron Gates. This 13.5 km long ravine features 300-meter high steep rocky walls towering over the river. The rocky walls are especially high along limestone stretches. Remains of river terraces created when the level of the Danube used to be higher have been preserved on both sides of the valley, in particular on the Serbian side. Cave entrances can be seen in a number of places and there are also several karst springs. The average width of the Gorge is 400 meters. It actually varies between 230 meters at its narrowest point and 1600 meters at its widest point, nearby the village of Brnjice (Лазаревић, Кирбус, 1996, Лукић, 2005, Лукић 2015). Several, rather small tributaries flow into the Danube in the Golubac Gorge. These side streams are the Begbunar and Dubasnica streams on the Serbian bank and two streams on the Romanian side called Alibeg and Sumice. The largest tributary flowing in the gorge is the River Brnjica, which runs for 23 km and whose basin covers an area of 77.4 square kilometres. The Brnjica River is formed at the confluence of two streams, Kljucata and Radenka. From that point on, the canyon of the Brnjica is between 250 and 420 meters deep, running all the way to the mouth of the Rakovica. The Brnjica river valley is best described as ravine-like downstream of the mouth of the Rakovica. A number of rocky masses and screes appear on both sides of the valley, resulting from erosion, rock disintegration and gravitational processes (Михајловски, 1970, Лукић 2005, Лукић, 2015). The Danube flows through Liubcova Valley for twelve kilometres, stretching from the mouth of the River Cezava on the Serbian side to Suva Reka on the Romanian side of the border. The valley was formed by separation of tectonic plates. It has been deepened between the fault lines running along the meridian and cutting through the Danube riverbed (Лазаревић, Кирбус, 1996, Лукић, 2005, Лукић, 2015). The valley has been carved into limestone, shale, andesite and gneiss rocks, while its central part is made of clay and sand dating back to the Neogene period. The sides of the valley rising over the river to a height of 150 meters have been cut through by the valleys of several streams such as Glavicica, Turski, Slanski, Birkin and Cvetni on the Serbian side and Kamenica, Oravica, Berzaska and Suva Reka on the Romanian side of the

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border. Inlets have formed at the mouths of these tributaries by means of accumulation, which is the reason why their banks are very dissected. Before an artificial lake was created at the mouths of these side streams, the majority of which are torrents, it was possible to see alluvial fans, but they are presently under the water. The longest tributary flowing into the Danube in Liubcova Valley is the River Dobra. The basin of this 14-kilometre long river has a surface area of 55.7 km2. Although the Dobra River has carved a gorge in its upper course, downstream, it has a regular valley with a wide alluvial plain known as “Dobransko Polje” (400 m) (Михајловски, 1970, Лукић 2005, Лукић, 2015). The second narrowing of the Iron Gates is known as Gospodjin Vir (Lady’s Eddy). It is 13 kilometres long and carved in limestone, sandstone, gneiss and porphyritic rocks rising 300 to 500 meters over the river. At this stage of the river course, the width of the Danube ranges between 220 and 380 meters. A number of underwater rocks emerge from the Danube riverbed in this gorge. The most notable ones are Kozla and Dojke formed from Neocomian limestone, then Bivoli, Izlaz and Tahtalija built of quartz-porphyry and finally, Vran, which is made of limestone. There used to be many whirlpools between these underwater rocks. Deep, giant potholes also have names. The most notable ones are Mackov, Veliki and Mali Simin. They were created by powerful water erosion processes and measure five to six meters in diameter. They are also very deep. For instance, a giant pothole near Greben measures 30 meters in depth, while the greatest river depth of 82 meters was measured at another pothole nearby the bluff known as “Pjatra Lunga” (A Long Stone) before the creation of a reservoir. If those giant potholes have not been filled by deposits after the formation of the artificial lake, the water in them is surely more than 100 m deep. Before the building of a dam and formation of Lake Djerdap, the strongest whirlpool in the Iron Gates named Girigari was located one kilometre downstream of Pjatra Lunga. The River Boljetinska is the most noteworthy of all tributaries that flow into the Danube at Gospodjin Vir. Its composite river valley is made of a number of narrowings and widenings. This is another river that has an alluvial fan created at its mouth and enters into the Danube in the form of a cup (Цвијић, 1926, Михајловски, 1970, Лукић 2005, Лукић, 2015). Tufa deposits located in the vicinity of Tuman Monastery lie to the south of Golubac, in a valley carved by the Kamenica stream. The valley of the Kamenica is narrow and deep, and because it faces north and is covered in forest, it is very shady. Rather small-scale tufa deposits have been formed at the centre of the valley, at some 250 m a.s.l. and 1.1 kilometre downstream of the place at which the Kamenica flows into the River Tumanska, at the foot of the right side of the valley. They have a shape of a fan-like terrace and scale approximately 14 m in height, covering a surface area of 8550 square meters. The deposits were created at a place where a karst spring comes up and limestone and schists come into contact with each other. They represent a geomorphological and hydrological natural monument of national importance that has been placed on the inventory of Serbian geo-heritage (Гавриловић, Ковачев, 2009, Лукић, 2015). A landscape surrounding Golubac and Dobra is characterised by very favourable climatic conditions, which can be conducive to promoting health and stationary tourism. Since Golubac does not have a weather station, data obtained by the weather station of Veliko Gradiste in the period 1991 – 2010 were used to analyse climate characteristics that are advantageous to tourism. Air temperature is an important climatic element for evaluating hydrological tourist attractions. The bathing season lasts as long as the air temperature is above 20ºC and the water temperature is above 18ºC. The annual mean temperature in Veliko Gradiste over the observed period was 11.5ºC. A peak high temperature was measured in July, 22.2ºC and August, 21.9 ºC, whereas lowest temperatures were measured during the winter, in particular in January, when the temperature would drop even below 0ºC. In January, the mean temperature was 0.4ºC. A

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D. Lukić Tourism potentials of Golubac municipality variety of activities are available to tourists in the Municipality of Golubac throughout the year, in particular those belonging to the sports and recreational type of tourism. Considering that the total mean number of summer days for the observed period was 103 and that those figures were highest in July and August when there were approximately 26 and 27 summer days respectively, 21 in June and 11 to 13 in September and May, the municipality of Golubac has favourable conditions for sun and beach, sports, recreational and nautical tourism. The effect of wind as a weather element on the tourism value of a destination is very strong since it decreases high temperatures in the littoral zone of the Danube, whereas light winds are conducive to sport sailing. On the other hand, the Koshava wind hinders travelling and sailing and brings down the air temperature. Generally speaking, winds blowing in the municipality of Golubac are the so- called Koshava wind from the south-east quadrant, then the north-west wind and the west wind. Relative humidity together with air temperature and wind gives the area a sense of certain comfort. Relative humidity of 60% at the air temperature of 20ºС is optimum for humans. Based on percentage of relative humidity, bioclimatology distinguishes between these classes of air: very dry air has 55% relative humidity, dry air has 55% to 75% relative humidity, moderately humid air has between 75% and 90% humidity, and very humid air has more than 90% humidity (Група аутора, 2006). Over the observed period, relative humidity was 73%. Peak mean values around 80% were reached in November, December and January, while lowest values were recorded in spring and summer. Based on the classes of air enumerated above, periods of dry and moderately humid air alternate in the municipality of Golubac throughout a year. Cloud cover is another important weather element since it has a direct impact on insulation, which again reflects on certain tourist activities. Formation of fog is another weather phenomenon related to cloud cover and is very important to evaluation of this area from the perspective of tourism due to the fact that it hinders traffic and makes the landscape aesthetically unattractive. Looking by month, winter months and late autumn months have most foggy days, specifically November, December and January. Fog occurs rarely during summer. Another weather element, precipitation, also has an impact on the characteristics of a specific area, firstly with respect to maintenance of bodies of water, then to vegetation, and even to tourism. Days without precipitation are more relevant in terms of tourism, in particular to promoting sun and beach tourism and sports and recreational types of tourism. Over the observed period, the average sum of precipitation amounted to 641 mm of rainfall (Лукић, 2015, Lukić, 2015). The River Danube represents the backbone of the Serbian Danube Basin. The Danube runs through Serbia for 588 km. Its left bank belongs to Romania starting from the mouth of the River Nera. The right bank belongs to Serbia, all the way to the mouth of the River Timok. A boathouse called Kisiljevo is located at the river kilometre 1062 and it leads to an embankment that separates Silver Lake (Serbian: Srebrno jezero) from the Danube. A town of Veliko Gradiste, the mouth of the River Pek where it flows into the Danube, Pozezeno and Vinci are located downstream of Kiseljevo, each at a distance of two kilometres of each other. The Isle of Moldova Veche (Serbian: Moldavsko ostrvo), which belongs to Romania and whose both branches are navigable, extends therefrom to Golubac. A regatta venue, where Serbian sailing championships are organized every year because of the windiness of the site, is located just outside Golubac. Two villages, Brnjica and Dobra, are situated downstream of Golubac. Results of a water-level analysis show that the section of the Danube flowing through Serbia belongs to the nivo-pluvial type of river regimen (Ботев и Дојков, 1980, Дунавска комисија, 1989, Лукић, 2015). Since the “Djerdap I” Hydropower and Navigation System was built and the artificial lake called Lake Djerdap was formed, these Danube waters have no longer been subject to the natural river regime. Data obtained at the Veliko Gradiste stream gauge during the period 1991-2010 were used to analyse the temperature regime of the Danube. The mean annual temperature of the

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River Danube over the observed period was 13.3ºС. The peak high temperature of 23.9ºС was recorded in August, while the lowest temperature of 2.4ºС was recorded in January. High temperature of water during the summer is favourable for the bathing season, which lasts for two months, during July and August, when the temperature of the water exceeds 20ºС. Or, in case of those less sensitive to the cold, it may last for even four months, from June to September, when the temperature of the water is around 18ºС (Лукић, 2015). The Danube littoral belonging to the municipality of Golubac extends along 44 kilometres (Група аутора, 1990).

ANTHROPOGENIC TOURISM RESOURCES OF GOLUBAC MUNICIPALITY

A Roman legion camp called Novae lies 18 kilometres downstream of Golubac, at the place where the River Cezava flows into the Danube. The camp was set up at this site in the 1st century AD and existed until the 6th century AD. A total of seven cultural layers have been discovered at this locality. First three layers date back to the period of the rule of Tiberius and Claudius (14 AD to 44 AD), then to the period of the rule of Nero and the civil war that broke out thereafter (54 AD to 69 AD), as well as to the Flavian age (69 to 97 AD). First wooden structures were built most probably during the rule of the Flavians, but only during the rule of Emperor Trajan was the fortification rebuilt using stone and began to be used to conquer new territories. The camp covered an area of 140x120 m and a headquarters building (principia) and army barracks were unearthed inside the camp walls. The fortification was reconstructed during the rule of Septimius Severus (193 to 211 AD), when a granary was added and towers on the east gate were expanded. In the 4th century AD, the width and length of the Novae fort were expanded by additional 3 meters. When the north and south gates were walled up and towers built at fort corners and all gates except the eastern one, the camp became a defence fortification. During the invasion of the Huns in the mid-5th century AD, the fort suffered considerable damage. It was rebuilt for the last time under the rule of Justinian (from 527 to 565 AD), but the attacks of Avar and Slavic tribes from the north eventually ended its existence in the late 6th century (Станковић, 1985, Ћирковић, 2005). Golubac Fortress is located at the very entrance to the Iron Gates gorge. It was built at the site of a Roman stronghold called Cuppae, measuring 165 m in length, with 2.5-metre thick walls. Bricks bearing identifying stamps of the Roman Seventh Legion, various items and metal coins discovered at the site are the evidence that a stronghold used to be there. The Golubac Fortress has nine towers built of stone. A cylindrical keep - donjon is located at the highest point. The upper courtyart, which is narrower than the lower one, lies beneath the keep. The fortress was constructed for battles fought using cold weapons, whereas embrasures can be found only on the tower that was added later on by the Ottomans. The fortification is protected by the Serbian Government. The majority of the site has been conserved since it represents one of the best preserved and most picturesque medieval fortresses in Serbia. The earliest mention of the Golubac Fortress in written records dates back to 1335, when it was referred to as a fortification with a Hungarian garrison. However, it was built much earlier, but it is unknown exactly when or by whom (Станковић, 1985, Лукић, 2005, Лукић 2015). Since 1948, the fortress has been under the protection of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments as immovable cultural heritage of exceptional importance based on the 1979 system of classification. It is located in a special nature reserve called “Golubacki grad” (Golubac Fort), which belongs to the Iron Gates National Park. The fortress is currently under reconstruction. Tuman Monastery belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Branichevo and lies at a distance of nine kilometres from Golubac. There is a lack of reliable written sources about its construction. The monastery was built a long time ago, but the new church was erected at the

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D. Lukić Tourism potentials of Golubac municipality foundations of the old monastery in 1924. It is dedicated to St Gabriel, the Archangel. It lies amidst a beautiful, picturesque scenery, surrounded by a forest, with a beautifully clear river flowing before its front gate. First reliable information about Tuman Monastery dates back to the first half of the 18th century and is found in the work of Maksim Ratkovic, the exarch of the Metropolitan of Belgrade. A description given by Joakim Vujic in 1826 offered a bit more information about the monastery. Vujic stated that its narthex was added in 1796, but attached no major importance to the monastery, which was similar in that way to Vitovnica, Nimnik or Rukumija. In Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1788-1792) and during the First Serbian Uprising (1804-1813), Tuman played a significant role, which was the reason why it was flooded, plundered and razed by the Turks. The monastery was rebuilt only later, during the rule of Prince Milos Obrenovic, through the efforts of Pavle Bogdanovic, obor-knez (the senior chief of a district) of Golubac. The oldest inscription in the monastery is found in the proskomedia. The Romanesque-style church, with a bell-tower on the west side, was razed to the ground somewhere around 1910. Soon thereafter, the Balkan Wars broke out, followed directly by World War I. When the First World War ended, the Monastery of Tuman lay in ruins. The rebuilding of the monastery from the ground up commenced immediately thereafter. The church within the monastery was constructed and consecrated in 1924 by the then-Bishop of the Eparchy of Branicevo, Mitrofan. It belongs to the style of architecture known as Moravian, characteristic of Medieval Serbia. It has an octagonal dome and a square-base tower located on a richly decorated and even more ornately adorned west façade. This 19-meter long and 17-meter wide church building measures more than 15 meters in height. It has a tin, oval roof. Whereas the dome roof is multifaceted, the tower has a four-pitched roof. The church has a cruciform plan, clearly reflected in its interior. The narthex, the naos and the altar, including prominent semi-circular apses, the one to the left inside the altar, and the other, the choral apse, to the right, are all clearly distinguishable. A wooden iconostasis bearing only five icons separates the altar from the nave. The altar apse is deep and semi-circular, with a window and an oculus towards the top. The iconostasis is made of wood, beautiful and decorative with ornamental woodwork. Sovereign tier icons show Christ, the Saviour and the Theotokos, while the Resurrection is placed above the North Door and the Ascension of Jesus above the South Door. The icon depicting the Last Supper is painted above the Royal Door. The Royal Door of the iconostasis show the Theotokos and the Archangel Gabriel, accompanied by a number of cherubs and seraphs. The Annunciation icon shows both the Heaven and Earth. Saint Sava, the first Serbian Archbishop, is depicted on the South Door, while the North Door have a panel showing the Holy Archangel Michael. Pillars divide the naos into two segments. The part closer to the altar is larger of the two and features choral apses. The main entrance to the church is on the west, but there are also side, auxiliary entrances. The frescoes at the monastery were painted between 1988 and 1991, under the management of the fresco painter Gavrilo Markovic. A fresco showing Christ Pantocrator, the Almighty and Sustainer of the World, located in the calotte of the church dome, is impressive in its beauty. Frescoes depicting the four evangelists, John, Luke, Matthew and Marco, are painted in triangular segments of a sphere, called pendentives, used as devices to allow the placing of a circular dome over a rectangular base. Scenes from Christ’s life are painted in the altar apse, with a fresco The Holy Communion of the Apostles in Emmaus standing out among others. The Theotokos and the Ascension of the Lord are painted in the semi-calotte of the altar apse, while the Resurrection of the Lord is painted in a lunette above the altar. A fresco showing Holy Martyrs is painted on the south wall, with John the Baptist in a medallion featuring as the most prominent one. The Presentation of Christ at the Temple is painted in the semi-calotte of a choral apse, whereas the lunette features a fresco showing a Nativity scene. Episodes from the life and

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passion of Jesus Christ are painted on the north wall in this particular order, The Entry into Jerusalem, The Last Supper and The Crucifixion. Frescoes showing the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Descend of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles are painted on the west wall that separates the narthex from the main nave of the church. The walls of the transept have the frescos of the House of Nemanjic and the Lazarevic Dynasty painted on them, including two frescos presented by the ktetor and showing Milos Obilic and Tsar Lazar. The church building forms a pleasing and consistent whole. Unlike its interior, the church’s exterior is very decorative. On the outside, zigzag walls consist of two triple rings made of horizontally laid bricks, with double sills, arcades, pilasters, ornate windows, décor above them and stone rosettes. The west façade is the most beautiful. All its door and windows are decorated with stone trelliswork and low relief resembling the most delicate lace. The monastic quarters were built in 1935, following the arrival of a Serbian-Russian fraternity from the Monastery of Miljkov in 1934. The most precious piece of the chapel is an icon of the Theotokos of Kursk, brought to the monastery by the Russian monks. Aside from the monastic quarters, the monastery has a number of farm buildings (http://srpskoblago.rs/manastir-tumane/). The area surrounding the monastery has favourable conditions for organizing picnic areas. An ethno house located in the village of Sladinac lies at a distance of 5 kilometres from Golubac. It has a number of exhibits from late 19th century and early 20th century on display. This ethno house, owned by Zivojin Stokic, hosts a number of artefacts, such as old coins, rubber and wooden “opanci” (traditional Serbian shoes worn by peasants), woven sling bags, national costume typical of the area, various crockery, wooden baby cribs, a hundred-year-old furniture, a wooden sofa and three-legged stools. The value of this ethno exhibit is reflected in the authenticity and originality of artefacts put on display. There is a unique ethnographic display at the village of Dobra, hosted by its Cultural Centre. Its permanent exhibition shows several hundred artefacts tracing historical, cultural and folklore values of the area. In addition, the villages of Dobra and Brnjica are locations with favourable conditions for creating and organizing hospitality establishments, sports grounds, camp sites, and hunting and fishing grounds. At the same time, Golubac, with its hotel, restaurants, sailing venues, the marina and sports grounds, is suitable for promoting various types of stationary tourism. The municipality of Golubac has very favourable conditions for growing event tourism. Tourist events, both sporting and cultural, can also be used to prolong the tourist season and thus improve the economy. These events include the Jackal of the Inland Dunes Hunt in January (Branicevo – Golubac), Days of Honey and Wine (Baric – Golubac) and Woolf Hunters’ Meeting (Dobra – Golubac) in February. Then, there are the Folklore Ensembles’ May Meeting in May (Branicevo), the Vlachs’ Kolo Festival of Pentecost (Zitkovica – Golubac) and the Danube Day (Golubac) in June and the Danube Fair (Golubac) in July. Events organized in August are the International Kayak Regatta (Golubac), the National Sailing Championship (Golubac) and the River Fishermen Gathering (Vinci). Finally, Zander Days (Golubac) are held in October. Being located in the Iron Gates Gorge, the Municipality of Golubac possesses valuable natural resources and a wealth of cultural and historic monuments can be found in its territory. Therefore, forest school can be delivered in this municipality in various courses and for students of different ages. This also applies to student internship in tourism studies, geography, biology, forestry, geology, archaeology, art history, etc. Youth travel centres should be designed in such a manner to offer accommodation along with learning opportunities, sports activities, recreation and amusement all year round (Анђелковић, Станисављевић Петровић 2013). Other advantages of this municipality are related to favourable conditions for promoting hunting tourism and sport fishing. It should also be noted that the village of Vinci is very attractive

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D. Lukić Tourism potentials of Golubac municipality for promoting tourism and complementary activities such as trade and crafts, because of plans to organize a ferry service and provide transport to neighbouring Moldova in Romania. A cottage complex located between Usije and Vinci can offer its cottage accommodation not only to owners and users, but also to many other tourists.

METHODOLOGY

To illustrate the level of tourism development in the Municipality of Golubac, we have analysed the following indicators for 2015: length of stay, index of functionality, occupancy rates and functionality score (Белиј М, Милосављевић Ј, Белиј Ј, Перак К, 2014). Length of stay (LS) represents a quotient of the number of overnight stays (OS) and the number of tourists (T):

퐿푆 = 푂푆 / 푇

The index of functionality (IF) represent a ratio of the number of available beds (B) to the population size (PS): 퐼퐹 = 퐵 푥 100 / 푃푆

The occupancy rate (OR) is a ratio of the number of overnight stays (OS) to the number of available beds (B) over one calendar year. It is used to determine the profitability of accommodation facilities: 푂푅 = 푂푆 х 100 / 퐵 х 365

A business is profitable if its occupancy rate exceeds 60%. If it ranges between 40% and 60%, it is borderline profitable. If it falls under 40%, it is considered unprofitable (Белиј М. и др, 2014). Functionality score is a measure of the turnover of tourism industry achieved at a location over a specific period of time. It can be determined in relation to the size of an area, the population size or the number of accommodation units (Белиј М. и др, 2014). This paper takes into account the functionality score measured in relation to the population size of the given area:

퐹푆 = 푇 х 100 / 푃푆 where FS denotes a functionality score, T represents the number of tourists and PS stands for the population size of the area.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The tourism industry is growing in importance not only in Golubac municipality, but in the entire region as well. This is evident from data showing an increase in the share of tourism in the structure of the product and employees in the region. Previously, there were not enough tourist facilities, but the situation has improved since the size of active fixed assets has increased in this particular industry. In 2015, the Municipality of Golubac had two business units belonging to the basic type of accommodation facility. They were a two-star hotel and a lodging house. In total, both had 59 rooms with 172 beds, specifically 122 permanent and 50 spare beds. As regards complementary accommodation, there were 21 one-star rooms let by private individuals. They offered 51 beds, namely 50 permanent and one spare bed.

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In total, there were 80 rooms with 223 beds, specifically 172 permanent and 51 spare beds. The hotel, called “Golubacki grad” (Golubac Fort), and “Pilot” studios in Golubac are both examples of modern architecture and the contemporary hospitality industry. Next to them, there is a two-kilometre long waterfront, affording a view of Lake Djerdap, which reaches its maximum width at this point, and of the Golubac Fortress as well. The peacefulness and tranquillity of this place are ideal for vacation, rest and recreation.

Table 1: Accommodation units in Golubac Municipality in 2015

Golubac Rooms Permanent Spare Business units Total beds 2015 available beds beds Total 2 80 223 172 51 Basic 2 59 172 122 50 accommodation Hotels – total 1 50 150 100 50 Two-star hotels 1 50 150 100 50 Lodging houses 1 9 22 22 0 (Inns) Complementary 0 21 51 50 1 accommodation Private rooms – ... 21 51 50 1 in total One-star private ... 21 51 50 1 rooms Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

A total of 2919 tourist arrivals were recorded in the Municipality of Golubac in 2015. Of that number, domestic tourists accounted for 1953 arrivals and international tourists for 966 arrivals. There were, in toto, 3857 overnight stays. Of that number, domestic tourists stayed 2739 overnights and international tourists 1118. The table shows a downward trend towards lesser number of visitors in 2015 when compared to the figures reached in 2013. This applies in particular to domestic tourists, since in their case the 2013 figures had plummeted by 2000 overnights in 2015. However, a positive side of comparing the 2013 versus 2015 figures is a slight rise in the number of international tourists, which had increased by 430 over the period 2013-2015.

Table 2. Tourist turnover in Golubac Municipality in the period 2013 – 2015

Golubac Arrivals Overnights

Year Total Domestic International Total Domestic International 2015 2919 1953 966 3857 2739 1118 2014 2766 2152 614 4000 3258 742 2013 4962 4426 536 8878 8120 758 Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

Table 3 shows that the average length of stay of tourists in Golubac municipality in 2015 was one day. Such short length of stay was due to a number of factors. An unfavourable situation in the Serbian tourism industry over the past years was accompanied by a decline in purchasing power of the population. In addition, the cost of tourism-related services had risen and tourist

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D. Lukić Tourism potentials of Golubac municipality attractions were insufficiently and inadequately promoted in the media, both domestic and international. Finally, there were not enough business units and rooms and beds available. The functionality index of Golubac municipality was 2.58%.

Table 3: Indicators of tourism development of Golubac Municipality in 2015

Municipality Population size Tourists Overnight stays Golubac (2011 Census) 8654 2919 3857 Beds Length of stay Function. index (%) Occupancy rates Function. score (day) (%) (%) 223 1.3 2.58 4.73 33.73 Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

Such extremely low functionality index was not only a result of a small number of beds available to tourists. It was also due to a relatively small population of the municipality. However, even if the actual number of beds intended for accommodation of tourists were reported to the competent authorities, the functionality index would still remain in the low range. This implies that efforts should be made to improve the overall tourism offer in the municipality of Golubac. Such situation is also related to the low occupancy rate of 4.73%, which points to utter unprofitability of accommodation facilities, and to a low functionality score, amounting only to 33.73%.

CONCLUSION

The Municipality of Golubac has natural and anthropogenic tourism resources, which, however, need to be managed and organized in a proper manner. Access roads to such attractions need to be constructed, not limited only to those from existing routes, but also from new roads that would be built by cutting through an area of mountainous land. Despite all the potentials that have been mentioned above, the level of tourism development is still rather low. What should be expected in the future is that the area along the Danube bank will be used more as a tourist attraction given that presently, there are some accommodation facilities that can accommodate more tourists than they actually do at the moment since their occupancy rates are still pretty much low. What also needs to be enhanced are the media promotion and interpretation of this area. This should be done by improving the tour guide service, creating and printing promotional material, giving presentations of tourism potentials of Golubac Municipality at trade fairs and relevant gatherings and by creating a proper website. In addition to the resources mentioned in the paper, other attractions should be made available to tourists, offering amusement, recreation and education to stimulate their interest in visiting the municipality as much as possible.

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